Soldiers firing on a crowd demonstrating at the colliery gates of Ackton Hall Pit, during the Featherstone riots, 7 September 1893, following a reading of the riot act
Illustration from a History of England, pub circa 1905. Info from wiki: The town came to national attention during a national "lockout" of mine workers in 1893 due to low coal prices and overproduction. Soldiers fired on a crowd who were demonstrating at the colliery gates, killing two instantly.[6] (The Guardian claimed that a third man, a Mr. Tomlinson from Normanton, died the following day from injuries from being shot but only two dead are named on the town's sculpture.)[7] A distinctive sculpture marking the centenary of the Featherstone Massacre stands in the shopping precinct and a large mural depicting the town's heritage can be seen at the town's main crossroads. Ackton Hall Colliery was the first pit to close following the end of the miners' strike and this could not be contested as geological difficulties had made it impossible for the pit to continue production.
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Photo credit: © Historical Images Archive / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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